Stronger Than Blood
by CyberSupernatural
Summary: They're hunters and they're bound by something stronger than blood. And now one of them needs help. Using Ridley C. James' Brotherhood AU. Chap 3 up!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : **I do not own ANY of the characters in this story. The Supernatural characters belong to the CW network and the characters of The Brotherhood belong to Ridley. C. James. What a pity!

**A/n : **Guess who's back? Yup, it's another brand new story.

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**Stronger Than Blood**

**Chapter 1 : The Future Knight**

_His head hangs down, unsupported, lolling to the side, exposing his neck. His dirty, blonde hair - streaked with dirt and ash falls over his face, shielding his burning eyes from his captor's view. His arms are held back by handcuffs, cutting into his skin and he doesn't remember what they did to his shirt. Sweat sticks all over his body like a second skin and he gasps for air. His back is on fire, he's pretty sure someone put a lighter to it, and his knees hurt from kneeling too long. He tries to stand, once, twice, and fails._

_He finally gives up, falling back to the hard floor, and cries out in pain. He's in some kind of ... prison. Metal bars. Concrete floor. Cracked cieling. _

_They watch him through the bars, eyes furious._

_"Has he revealed?" one of them asks and the other shakes his head. The first man smirks," That's all right, he will soon."_

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"I've called all the people I can pull up," Bobby Singer spoke, his voice frustrated," Still no sign of him."

John Winchester gritted his teeth," Well, we gotta do better than that! He's been gone for four days."

"I've tried everything I have, what do you want me to do?" Bobby half-yelled.

By the sparse light of the candle, Jim's face was angry, barely restrained," John, Robert, please keep your voices down. The boys are sleeping and they can probably hear you. Now, I know we're all frustrated by the fact that we're not getting any results, but I think the situation isn't going to get better until we can calm down and work with our minds clear."

The Hunter's Tomb was quiet for a while, each of the three other hunters processing the truth in Jim's words and all of them taking deep breaths. Finally, Winchester spoke, "Jim's right. We've got to keep our heads. We're no help to Caleb if we all goinsane."

"Okay," Joshua Sawyer leaned forward, "I've tried some of the lower location charms but they haven't worked. So, I've decided to try the other, more difficult, more powerful ones."

"Okay," Jim agreed, looking at Bobby," Meanwhile, Robert, keep looking for witnesses on the trail and John will get some well deserved rest - no, don't interrupt me, your ribs are cracked from your last hunt and after you've recovered, you can go with Bobby."

John sighed. He hated being useless, sitting in a chair while Caleb was bound somewhere, hurt **-** or worse. But he swallowed his protests, knowing Jim was right, he wouldn't be much use to Caleb if he ended up in the hospital.

"I just want to know why they took him. And who," Bobby ran a hand through his hair," What were they after - Caleb himself or - "

"They could be after Samuel," Joshua remarked and met John's furious eyes, "Think about it - they could be messengers from the demon."

"Just what I need," John groaned, "Another person to be taken for that yellow-eyed son of a bitch."

"John," Jim reprimanded sharply, then his voice softened, "We'll get him back, don't you worry."

"Yeah," Bobby agreed, "And they're not getting Sam either. Whatever the plan is - it's not going to happen."

"Precisely," Jim looked around the table, "All of you go to bed and try to get some sleep."

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John opened the door, slowly, and peeked inside the boys' bedroom. They were lying in the same position that he had left them in…Sam's head on his big brother's chest and Dean's arms around him, their legs tangled innocently. He smiled, involuntarily, recalling the countless number of times that Dean had crept into Sammy's crib and slept with him. They were inseparable, even is sleep. He turned to go when his six year olds voice stopped him at the door, small, sleepy and confused, "Daddy?"

John turned around, walking inside to the bed. A pair of brown eyes looked up at him and John smiled at the boy, running his fingers through the brown mop, "What is it, Sammy?"

"Caleb's not here still?" The words, spoken as if they were scared to be said out loud, pulled strings in his heart.

"No, but he will be soon," he assured and saw Sammy's eyes slip close.

"Promise?"

John swallowed the lump in his throat and murmured," Promise," before bending and kissing the little boy's forehead, "Now, go to sleep; I'll see you in the morning okay sport?"

"Okay.' Night daddy."

"Good night, Sammy."

John followed his words with another kiss and pulled the sheets tighter around the two boys, walking out and closing the door behind him.

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_Something swatted at Caleb's face and he groaned, opening his eyes. The masked men were standing over him. One of them kicked at his ribs and Caleb let out a growl of fury, managing to pull himself into a sitting position, glaring up at the men._

_"What the hell do you want?" he spat at them._

_The brown-haired one reached down and grabbed his hair as Caleb yelled in protest, "Where is Sam?"_

_Even through the fog of pain, Caleb's mouth quirked upwards. There was a hint of his earlier, confident, cocky grin, "Sam who?"_

_The man gripped his hair tighter and shouted, leaning close to Caleb's upturned face, "Where is Sam!"_

_Caleb gritted his teeth against the blinding pain and muttered, "Sam. Who."_

_This seemed to anger the man as he let go of Caleb's hair, head banging off the wall, "Fine. Have it your way." He stood up and turned around, gesturing to the others. He got as far as the bar when Caleb's voice, low and mocking reached him, "Do your homework, asshole. You'll know where he is...and then The Brotherhood will kill you."_

_He strode back, grabbing Caleb's arm hard enough to bruise, "What did you say?"_

_"I said," Caleb looked up, meeting the man's eyes behind the mask without flinching; "The Brotherhood will kill you."_

_A punch was thrown to his jaw, cracking it to the side but he turned his face again, holding the other man's gaze._

_"The Brotherhood," his captor started, "will be dissolved, broken, murdered if it comes to that, once I'm done with it." He spun around and strode away. After he closed the gate and locked the young man inside once again, the only thing he could hear was Caleb's gasping, breathless laughter._

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**A/n : **Dum, dum, dum ... dada dum, dum, dum. Yup, I'm enjoying this. Anyway, lots of hugs for my wonderful beta, **supergirl3684 **and to **Ridley C. James** for letting me borrow her characters. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up so stay tuned. Review!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer : **I do not own any of the characters.

**A/n : **A huge warm thank you to whoever reviewed. Here's the next installment. Enjoy!

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**Stronger Than Blood**

**Chapter 2 : Fight For Him**

Breakfast at the table in Pastor Jim's place was tense, despite Sam's efforts to get everyone to laugh at him. His attempt to suck noodles into his mouth, known to have never failed to make Bobby laugh, was now met with a grunt and a slight reprimand from his father. Even Dean was ignoring him, toying with his food and pushing it around his plate. Finally, Sam gave it up and put his fork down; he turned to his big brother with a pout, "Dean s'everyone mad at me? What'd I do?"

Dean's blonde head snapped up in surprise. So did the other hunters' and they grimaced, hearing the little boy's confused voice. Dean tried for a reassuring smile and failed miserably; he was extremely pissed. He knew something was wrong, he wasn't two for Pete's sake. Caleb was usually here before the Winchesters for summer break. But no one was telling him anything - treating him like he was younger than eleven. And Sammy wasn't making it any easier, asking unwanted questions and generally annoying everyone, although it was inadvertent. Dean took a deep breath; all he was going to achieve by yelling at Sammy would be his tears.

"Its okay, Sammy," Dean tried to smile again, "No one's mad at you. Why d'you say that?"

"'Cause no one's talking to me," Sam looked around the table, accusingly, "Not even you."

Dean didn't say anything, just slipped an arm around Sam's shoulders, hoping to hell Sam would shut up now, because his dad was getting that look in his eyes. But Sam, of course, like all six year olds, couldn't.

"Dean?"

Dean stole a look at his father, "Yeah?" _Please let Sammy ask about - hell, marsupials or something._

"Why's Caleb not here still?"_ Damn._

Something like rage broke out inside Dean and he started, "I don't know, Sammy. I mean, I would, if someone told me what the _hell_ was going on -"

"Dean," John warned, "Language."

"Damn it!" Dean threw his fork down and stood up, his voice rising, "Screw language, dad! Where is Caleb? Is he in trouble?"

"Dean," John looked up at his eleven year old and wondered if his own face had gone that shade of red that Dean's had, "Sit down and finish your breakfast."

Sam looked between the two of them, lower lip wobbling, "Dean?"

"For once in your goddamn life just shut up, Sammy!" Dean yelled, pushing his chair back and storming to the foot of the stairs, preparing to climb them when John's booming voice stopped him, "Dean! That's no way to talk to your brother! Get back here, sit down and finish your breakfast."

Sam flinched and dropped his gaze.

"No! Why isn't anyone telling me anything? Caleb's in trouble, isn't he?"

"Dean," Pastor Jim spoke quietly but was over-ridden by John.

"Dean, if you don't come back here right now, apologize to your brother and _finish _your food, you won't have breakfast for a week, so help me God ..."

Dean's face lost its redness as soon as it came. He stared at his father stonily, before turning on his heel and stamping up the stairs, "Fine."

John sighed and rubbed a hand over his sweaty face. Bobby mumbled an excuse and got up, closely followed by Joshua. Sam pulled his knees up to his chest, not daring to say anything, scared and wet brown eyes locked on the table.

"Sam," Jim said, softly, so as not to startle the boy, but Sam jumped anyway, "Go look for your brother, please."

The little boy got off his chair, almost instantly but stood where he was, shuffling his feet.

"What is it, Sammy?" John finally asked, unable to stand the lost puppy look on Sammy's innocent face.

Sam flinched again but spoke, voice choked with tears, "Can Dean eat his breakfast, please, daddy?"

John's throat closed at the plea and he nodded. _Goddamn it, Caleb. Where the hell are you?_

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_His breaths came in short, ragged gasps, but he kept his gaze on the muzzle of the gun pointed towards him. _

_"Tell us," the man tightened his grip on Caleb's neck, "Tell us where he is."_

_The man holding the gun cocked it and Caleb felt the immediate need to scoff, "You won't shoot me, idiot, save the drama for Lindsay Lohan."_

_The man's mask was missing today and Caleb could make out an inch long scar on his cheek. The man choking him glanced up at Gunman, exchanging a blank look._

_"What?" Caleb needed to stall for time, "You've never seen 'Confessions of a Drama Queen'? What'cha been living under? A stone?"_

_"The only person who'll be living under a stone will be you, if you don't tell us where Sam is."_

_Caleb tried to roll his eyes, "Again with the Sam person."_

_"We know you know him," he growled, "Where is he?"_

_Caleb didn't answer, licking the blood from his lip. Gunman growled, giving him a slight push that sent him reeling back. Throwing a grin at his captors, Caleb pretended he was going to sleep. The two men threw the gates close and strode off, leaving Caleb alone again. Caleb opened his eyes and glanced around. He hated to admit this but there would be no way out of this. The only person who would be able to locate him was Sammy. And he was too little..._

_Closing his eyes, he tried to imagine the kid's bright smile, tousled brown hair and eyes that could bring the mighty John Winchester to his knees. And even if it was for only a minute, the pain vanished. This was for Sammy. He'd die before he let these creeps lay a hand on him. _

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Sam stood outside the brown bathroom door, tears streaking down his face. He raised a hand to knock and then Dean yelled from inside, "Go away!"

More tears made their way down his cheeks and he knocked again," D - Dean?"

Dean didn't say anything this time, which was even worse and Sam hiccupped, the plate in his hands shaking," Dean? M'sorry. Is - is -" suddenly a thought struck the boy, "Is it my fault? I'm sorry, please -" his voice gave out there, breaking down into small sobs and leaning his head against the door.

The door suddenly swung open and he tumbled into Dean, plate first and got sauce all over Dean's shirt, enough to dissolve into tears again. Dean took the plate from him and setting it down, pulled him into his arms, walking them both to the bed.

"Sammy, shhh," Dean murmured into the brown hair, role of the protector, role of the big brother, "Hey, I'm sorry I yelled, okay? Nothing's your fault. Stop crying, shhh."

The tears stilled and Sam's puffy eyes looked up at him, shyly, "Are you st - still mad at me?"

Dean sighed, "I was never mad at you. I'm sorry I yelled, Sammy. We're friends, okay?"

Sam seemed to consider this for a while before he nodded, "Okay. Will you eat your breakfast now?"

Dean smiled and ruffled up his hair, "I will. C'mon, sit with me?"

"Okay, can we play Candy Land later?"

"Sure."

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**A/n : **Okay, okay before you get on my case about John - let's all remember that he's very stressed right now. Caleb's his student and he's obviously scared for him. Which is why he jumped at Dean's throat. Thanks to my wonderful beta **supergirl3684** for putting up with my crappy spacing! Review!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer : **Not mine.

**A/n : **Again, a big thank you to whoever reviewed. Well, to anyone who thinks that I've made mistakes in the ages, you're wrong. Please stop to think that there WILL be a few months' difference and for those few months Dean will be five years older than Sam. And sorry about the Lindsay Lohan mistake! Next installment is here. Some action! Enjoy!

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**Stronger Than Blood**

**Chapter 3 : Inner Demons**

It was another oneof their midnight discussions at The Hunter's Tomb and Joshua thought he had something. The candle light was glinting off the hunters gathered there and they were chewing their lips in anticipation.

"What do you have?" John asked; his eyes locked on Joshua.

"He was driving down Colby's Road, yes?" the crafter said, peering into the map in the thin light, "Well, there's a dirt road not far from where we found his hideous truck -"

"Hey," John protested. He had given it to the kid because it was no use to him anymore but that didn't mean Joshua could call it names. And it definitely looked better than Caleb's old jeep.

"Anyway, this dirt road leads to a warehouse," Joshua looked up, "Worth a check."

"And why's that?" Bobby questioned.

"Because a girl named Miranda Sach died there."

"What?" John leaned forward, "How?"

"Murdered by her uncle who confessed to the crime thirty hours later," Joshua grimaced, "He also sexually abused her."

"Angry spirit?"

Joshua shrugged, "Like I said, worth a check."

"Fine," John stood up, "I'll go check it out tomorrow."

"John," Pastor Jim tried to reason but John shook his head. "No, Jim. Caleb's my student. I know the kid's counting on me." And he was out of the door before anyone could say anything.

"This is hitting him really hard," Jim shook his head sadly. "I wish he wouldn't be so ... reckless."

"I'll go with him," Bobby comforted, "Don't worry."

"All right, now let's get down to real business," Joshua said, suddenly.

Bobby raised an eyebrow in Joshua's direction and exchanged a look with Jim, "What do you mean?"

"That has to keep Winchester out of the way for a couple of days," Joshua breathed out, loudly, "I know where Caleb is and I know how to get him back."

Bobby's jaw dropped but Jim's face was unreadable.

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_Caleb grinned as two men came into the room, "What'cha want, boys?" Truth be told, his back was on fire and his face hurt something awful. 'Okay, any minute now Johnny…any minute.'_

_"Let's not make this difficult," Gunman from yesterday said, pulling Caleb into a sitting position, "I'm here to make a deal. You tell us where Sam is and we'll let you go. I'll pay for your hospital bills myself and ensure you a full recovery. What do you say?"_

_"I say - get the hell away from me, bitch," Caleb smirked, "Although ... once the nurses start to see this handsome bastard's face they're not gonna want to charge…Well, money, at least."_

_A left to his jaw sent his sprawling on his back._

_"Do you think you're funny?" the gunman growled._

_Caleb couldn't answer. Images swam before his eyes and he gagged. Finally, he spat the blood out of his mouth and looked up at the man, "Hell, yes."_

_The gunman knelt until he was eye-to-eye with Caleb," You're in trouble, Reaves. This place is protected by the most powerful of spells. Your little magician won't be able to locate you. Even if the Brotherhood does find you, you'll never get out."_

_"Never say never," Caleb laughed, "What do you want with Sammy, anyway? He's just a little kid."_

_Ignoring him, the gunman walked to the gate and before pulling the gates close, he said, "You know, you let up a really good chance to escape. Reconsider the offer."_

_Caleb sat up at this, eyes glowing in his pale face, "And what makes you think I value myself more than Sam? Huh?"_

_"You're in deep trouble," the man said again and Caleb tossed him a carefree grin, easy and fake._

_"Stole my words."_

_The man spun around, fury written on his face, and Caleb almost smelled victory. Because an angry man didn't have any control._

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"What the hell are you saying, man?" Bobby very-near growled, "What'd you mean hiding it from John?"

Joshua had the grace to look ashamed.

"Explain," Jim's voice betrayed nothing. Joshua nodded and gestured to the map, "Along Colby's Road, there's a forest - uh, Dandson Forest - and I'm sure there's something to be hidden there. That one area is repelling all my location charms. Why would someone try to protect the forest unless there was something to be seen there? And besides, it would take a very powerful crafter to conjure spells as strong as the ones I sense. It has to be the demon. He has Reaves and he wants Samuel."

"Could you sense the demon himself?" Jim asked.

"No, just ... others; Minor demons but there is no mistaking his hand in this."

"Wait, wait," Bobby held up his hands, "But I still don't understand why we have to keep this from Johnny."

Joshua didn't meet his eyes, "We might have to use Samuel as bait."

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Sam sat up in his bed, breathing ragged and erratic. Immediately, his hands involuntarily sought his brother and clenching tightly around Dean's pajama top. He rested his head against Dean's chest, feeling the other boy stir, "Sammy?"

Sam shivered, holding on tighter almost pinching skin in his grasp and Dean tried to soothe him, "Bad dream, huh? Its okay, Sammy; I won't let anything hurt you. I promise," and continued stroking his little brother's hair until Sam's body stopped shaking, "Hey, kiddo. It's okay. Wanna tell me about it?"

"I - it was Caleb," Sammy sighed, "He was in some sort of room. All - tied up. I couldn't touch him."

Dean rubbed his back and held him tight," Go back to sleep, Sammy; ain't nothin' more than a dream. No one's gonna hurt you... not when I'm around."

Sam smiled into the half-asleep, soothing words, and then sobered slightly, "I hate it when you yell at me."

The older boy sighed. It was definitely not one of his prouder moments. "I'm sorry, Sammy. I won't do it again."

"S'okay," Sam's voice floated up sleepily and Dean couldn't resist bending down and tickling the boy just because he wanted to hear him giggle. And, of course, tickle spots were something a big brother could never forget.

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**A/n : **Do you guys want Sammy to be used as bait? Do you think he should be? Lol. Thanks to my beta **supergirl3684**. Review!!!


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